This story's so much fun! So, here's a nice, long one for ya!!

BPOV

I couldn't believe how much Edward was inspiring me to write. I always thought it was the self-imposed isolation and longing I put myself through that made my write the way I did, but I guess actually being in a relationship is about ten times more motivational.

The day after my date with Edward, I cranked out my last chapters in a furious frenzy. And, surprisingly, I did it all with little to no errors. All I needed to do was proofread my last five chapters and make any corrections, and then I could send the copy to the publishers to get another round of proofreading and corrections before the book gets sent to print.

I was so excited I was pacing my living room with my pages in one hand and my red pen in the other. I even hummed a little Beatles tune as I checked things off and scratched things out. As I sat back at my computer to make all necessary corrections, my phone rang. Edward's name appeared on the caller ID and my heart started racing wildly.

"Hello!" I greeted enthusiastically.

"Hey beautiful, what are you up to?"

"Working," I said. "I'm almost done with the book—I just need to make some corrections, then I'm finished!"

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you."

"No, no—you didn't," I said. "I'm glad you called, I've done nothing but work all day."

"When did you start?"

"I don't know, about 8 o'clock this morning," I said.

"Holy Crap! Bella, it's midnight right now," he laughed.

"What?" I asked as I looked at the clock on my computer—he was right, 12 a.m. on the dot. "Jesus, I always do that! I get so caught up I lose track of time. Are you working right now?"

"We just finished up for the night, but I hadn't heard your voice all day and I wanted to call you; I hope that's alright."

"Call anytime you want," I said. "I love to hear from you."

"Well, I'm glad," he laughed. "And, I was wondering if you're free on Sunday?"

"I should be," I said, "Why?"

"Well, I don't work on Sundays, and I'm hoping we can spend the whole day together."

"Really? That would be great. What time do you want to meet?"

"Anytime you want, when is good for you?"

"How about 10 a.m., at that coffee shop near my place?"

"Sounds great," he said. Just then, I heard a woman in the background nagging him to get off the phone and go somewhere with her. I felt my heart drop just a little bit.

"Oh, I'm sorry; I'm keeping you from something, aren't I?"

"No," he said sounding annoyed. "It's just Kate being impatient."

"Oh, OK," I said. I still didn't feel any better. Who was Kate? Was he out on a date while calling me? Was I just one of the many girls he was seeing?

"So, I'll see you Sunday, right?" He asked eagerly.

"Yeah," I replied, "See you then."

I hung up and felt like my previous joy had just been crushed to pieces. I know I shouldn't feel this way—he's not my boyfriend—but every time I reach out and try to connect with a guy I feel I can have a relationship with, I never end up being first on his list.

I wrapped up my corrections in a hurry and printed out the pages. It was one in the morning by the time I put the whole book rough draft into an over-sized, manila envelop and set it where Luna couldn't mess with it. She did that once—she found the pages of my second book waiting to be shipped and decided it would be fun to use the stack of paper for a scratching post. It took me two extra hours to reprint all of the pages she ruined.

I went to bed and had a not so pleasant dream about Edward this time. We were hanging out at the coffee shop, just like a couple of friends, and various girls kept stopping by to make out with him. He would pull each girl on to his lap and kiss them passionately; he didn't seem to care that I was sitting right next to him, openly watching the whole thing.

Once this had happened about six times, I finally turned to him and asked, "What about me?"

That's when I woke up.

Today was Saturday, the day before my next date with Edward, and I really didn't feel much like getting out of bed today. But, I knew I would have to eventually – I had to get my book to the post office before it closed.

I looked at the clock and it read 10:30. Might as well get up and face the day. I put on some baggy sweats and sneakers before heading out to mail my book. It wasn't like I needed to look nice to run to the post office.

When I got back home, I jumped into the shower and took my time getting clean. I even took the time to shave my legs, thought it's too cold to wear a skirt, really. As I walked into the living room in my nice, comfy robe, my phone beeped at me, alerting me to a message. I checked it and heard Alice's high-pitched voice telling me to call her.

I dialed her number, "Hey Al, how's it going?"

"So, you mailed the book today, right?"

"Yup, did it almost an hour ago."

"Awesome!" She squealed. "So, how about you and me go out on the town tonight? I know you don't like to do things like that, but I don't care. I'm taking you to dinner, then to a club, whether you like it or not."

"Actually, that sounds like fun, Al," I replied.

"Really? OK, who are you and what have you done with Bella Swan?"

"Clever," I retorted. "No, I'm serious—I want to go out tonight. We haven't done that in a long time. I mean, I do like to hit the town every now and then, you know that."

"OK then, be ready at seven, I'll be sending a limo," she said.

"Anything in particular you want me to wear, oh fashion guru?"

"Hmmmm," she mused. "Do you still have that little, purple, Gucci mini-dress I got you?"

"I don't know, let me checked."

"No! Nevermind," she said suddenly. "We're going shopping."

I groaned, "Come on, I may be in a good enough mood to go out, but shopping with you is pushing it."

"Hey, if we're going to celebrate, we're going to do it right!" She said. "I'll be there in twenty minutes, so be ready. Oh! And don't do anything with your hair or makeup; I'll take care of that, too."

"Fine," I said before hanging up.

I threw on some ratty old jeans and a t-shirt and sat with Luna for a bit before my doorbell rang. Alice stood there and sneered at my outfit.

"We're going to be laughed right out of Saks if you wear that in," she said.

"And I should care because...?"

She shook her head in disgust and led me to her town car. While I had a tendency to save my money, Alice spent hers like it was burning a hole in her bank account. She even had a driver and everything.

We hopped in the backseat and I greeted the man she hired to chauffer her around, "Hey Steve."

"Hello Miss Swan, how are you today?"

"Fine, I guess," I said with a sigh.

We pulled up to the really fancy mall where the Saks was located moments later and Alice pulled me out in a hurry while Steve went to park the town car in the parking garage. I hate this store with a passion. I mean, I'm not a big fan of shopping, anyway, but places like Saks or Barney's or Neiman Markus just irritate me even more. Full of snooty employees and snootier clients who always give me the cold shoulder because I wear faded old jeans and a $5 t-shirt into the store.

Little did they know I make more money per book than most of them did in ten years.

Determined little Alice dragged me right to the section where she knew I wouldn't put up much of a fight—the Dior collection. I must admit, I love Dior. It's really the only designer clothing I feel deserves my hard-earned cash.

The woman working in the section, predictably, sneered at me like Alice did earlier and spoke mostly to her.

"Can I help you two?" She asked in a voice dripping with disdain.

"We're just looking for the perfect celebration outfit," Alice said. "I'm thinking...gold! Yes, a gold dress! What can you show me?"

"I'm afraid we don't have anything like that," the woman said dismissively. "Why don't you girls try Forever 21?"

"That's a good idea," I told Alice. "They might actually have salespeople there who want to, you know, make sales!!"

I turned to leave with Alice following after me, "Come on, Bells, let's just try a different designer. Someone here has to be interested in helping a couple of fine young ladies find a gold dress!"

I turned back to her, "You get one more shot, Al. If the next person is as rude and obnoxious as that lady, we go somewhere else."

Alice pulled me across the store to the section that held BCBG. It was all very cute, so I let her proceed. The girl working there didn't seem as heinous as the old lady in the Dior section, so I let Alice pull some dresses for me to try on.

The first was a gold dress, like she had been wanting. But, it was too short for my tastes, "No way, Al. Not unless I get to wear leggings underneath."

"And ruin the outfit? I forbid it!" She said. "Fine, try this."

She handed me a one-shouldered, silver dress and I was in love immediately. I slipped it on and it was just right—tight enough to show my shape, long enough to hide my still too heavy thighs and the color looked beautiful against my skin.

"It's perfect, Al," I said as I exited the dressing room.

"Oh Bells! You look beautiful! Well, you always do...but now, it's stunning!"

"It looks nice," the salesgirl said indifferently.

I ignored her and concentrated on the dress. It was making me feel loads better than I had earlier. It almost made me forget about being jealous—jealous; I had to come to terms with that eventually, didn't I? Would it be too much too soon for me to ask Edward if he would not see other people while we are seeing each other? If that is, in fact, what we are doing.

I was lost in thought as I took the dress off to pay for it, but Alice brought me back to reality fast.

"OK, now I know there is an awesome salon here," she said. "Do we dare try it out?"

"Sure," I shrugged.

"What's wrong, Bells?" She asked. "You were so happy a minute ago."

I needed someone to confide in, might as well be Alice.

"Al, when is the right time to ask a guy to be exclusive with you?" I asked.

"Whenever it feels right, really," she replied. "Why? Who have you met? And why are you just now telling me, your best friend?"

"I met him at that little coffee shop near my house," I said. "His name is Edward and we went on a date the day before yesterday. And, we have another date tomorrow."

"Bells! Why didn't you call me immediately?" She squealed so loud it hurt my ears.

"Because of this reaction," I said, putting my fingers in my ears melodramatically.

"Oh, I'm not that bad," she countered. "And besides, you tell your best friend these things, you know. Geez, you really are inexperienced when it comes to dating."

"OK, enough commentary about my love life," I said.

I paid for the dress, despite Alice's insistence to make it a gift from her, and trudged my way to the Saks salon. They got me seated immediately, as the wonderfully flamboyant, gay hairdresser, Ricky, was just as enthusiastic about my makeover as Alice was.

"Oh honey, Imma make you look fabulous," he said.

"OK, so tell me what brought on that question about exclusivity," Alice demanded as Ricky brought me back from rinsing my hair down. "You mean he's seeing you and another girl."

"I don't know," I replied. "He called last night to ask me out tomorrow, but I could hear this girl in the background telling him to hurry up—it sounded like he was on a date."

"Sounds like a player to me," Ricky said.

"Just ask him about it," Alice said. "And, if he doesn't want to be a one-woman man, just break things off. You deserve better."

"That's true, girl," Ricky agreed. "And after I'm done with you, all the mens are gonna be throwing themselves at your feet."

"Good," Alice said. "Because I'm taking her out tonight."

"Oooo, where ya'll goin'?"

"Rize," Alice said.

I groaned—she's tried to take me there so many times before and I have refused. It's one of those clubs where only those pretty, anorexic girls hang out trying to hook up with equally pretty guys. It was easy for Alice to fit in at places like that, but not me. I usually sit in the corner with a drink and wait until Alice is ready to go.

"You're going and that's all there is to it," Alice said as her phone started to ring.

She excused herself to answer it as Ricky worked his magic on my hair. He looked at me in the mirror with an odd expression.

"Can I tell you something?" He asked.

"Sure."

"Well, it's just you remind me of my sister, she was a shy girl who didn't always think very highly of herself—no offense, but that's the way you seem to me. And, she only broke free of her shell when she finally realized she was beautiful no matter what anyone thought. She was the type to stand alone, in corners," was this guy reading my mind or something? "Until one day she took control of her future and threw caution into the wind. That's when she found out people will always love a confident, strong, intelligent woman...no matter what she looks like."

I smiled at him, "Thanks for that."

"Hey, my job is to make lovely ladies feel good about themselves. And you, my dear, are one lovely lady. What do you do for a living, Bella?"

"I'm an author," I said.

"Wow, what kind of books?"

"Romance," I said. "Um....have you heard of the Emma Malone series?"

His scissors stopped in mid-air, "You're Isabella Swan?"

I nodded.

He nearly dropped the sharp object in his hand with excitement.

"I love your books! All my friends do, too!"

"Wow, I didn't think guys read my books," I said.

He laughed, "Straight guys don't, but you actually have quite the gay following, girl. Even I want to be Emma Malone."

I giggled and shook my head, "Trust me, there is no Emma Malone. She's just a figment of my overactive imagination."

"Even still," he said. "I want to be her."

Alice walked back over just as Ricky was beginning to style my hair.

"Should we do it up or down?" He asked us.

"Down, definitely," Alice said. "She doesn't want to be scratching at bobby pins all night."

"OK, here we go," he said as he turned on his blow dryer and got down to business.

In a few minutes, my hair was in soft waves all around my face. Ricky took off about an inch of length, but it was still nice and long. The ends were curled into pretty little curlicues that bounced up and down as I moved.

"I love it," I said.

"Oh, we're not done yet, girl," Ricky said as he pulled out a tray with tons of makeup pallets on it.

"You're a makeup artist, too?" I asked.

"Honey, I do everything," he said as he went to work.

He plucked my eyebrows, waxed my upper lip and even sprayed this weird foundation stuff on me all before letting me see the finished product. It certainly didn't look like me.

"What's wrong?" Ricky asked as I gazed at myself in the mirror morosely.

"It doesn't look like me," I said. "Can't we go a little more...natural?"

"Bella," Alice said. "This is you, you're just not used to seeing yourself all made up. It doesn't look unnatural at all."

"Really?" I asked, still unsure.

"Come on," Alice said as she paid Ricky for his services, plus a huge tip, and pulled me into the adjoining mall.

"Good luck, Bella!" Ricky called after me.

Before I had a chance to answer him, Alice dragged me all the way to the food court. She took the bag my dress was in and directed me to stay put while she looked around for something. She stopped and grabbed a young man by the elbow, dragging him over to me.

He was a typical 20-something: tall, fashionable, well-coiffed and good-looking. I'm sure my face had gone crimson at this point.

"What's your name?" Alice asked the guy.

"Um...Seth," he replied.

"Hi Seth, this is Bella," she said, motioning to me. "Do you think she's pretty?"

"Yeah," he replied quickly. "She's really pretty."

"Would you ask her out on a date?"

"Seriously? Yeah, can...can I have your number?" He asked me.

"Um...sure," I said as he pulled out his phone.

"Hang on, this isn't a hook up," Alice said. "It was just an experiment...be on your way now."

With that, she pushed Seth back towards his friends.

"But..." he began. Alice shot him a stern look and he ducked his head and walked away.

"Why did you do that?" I asked, settling my hands on my hips.

"To show you how awesome you look."

"It's not that I don't think I look good," I said. "I just don't look like me."

"Yeah, well, get over it! You're going out like that whether you like it or not."

I sighed and followed her as she turned on her heel and walked away. She stopped at a Peaberry Coffee kiosk and ordered us some lattes as she called Steve to bring the car around to the front of the mall. Sure enough, as soon as we approached the exit, there he was, holding the door for us.

"Trust me, Steve, she doesn't pay you enough to do this day after day," I told him.

"Stifle!" Alice said as she pulled me into the car.

We drove to her place so we could both change and kill some time before we headed out to dinner. She took me to a way-too-nice little French restaurant and ordered us duck a l'Orange and Dom Perignon. It was tasty, though, so I couldn't really complain.

After dinner, we hit Rize and Alice dragged me to the front of the waiting line. She gave the bouncer a smile and he let us in before all the other people outside. We walked inside to a chorus of people shouting, "Hey! That's not fair!"

I felt I should have said sorry to all those other people, but I shook off that feeling and decided to just have a good time tonight. Alice and I found a table in the corner of the club and were promptly approached by a waitress asking for our drink orders. Alice ordered us more champagne while I scanned the room to see the people gyrating on the dance floor.

I actually am a pretty good dancer, but I tend not to let loose at a club. Tonight, though, I thought I could make an exception. And once I had two more glasses of champagne in me, I was really ready to dance.

Alice and I stood up and walked out to the middle of the dance floor and started twirling and writhing to the music. After about two songs, I felt a pair of hands press firmly, but gently, on my hips. The guy behind me leaned forward and half-whispered, half-shouted in my ear, "Would you mind if I danced with you?"

I turned to come face to face with an incredibly tall, incredibly handsome man. He had dark hair and bronze-colored skin, and he smelled very nice—not like cologne, just like a clean, fresh man. I nodded at him and he placed one hand on the small of my back to bring our bodies closer together.

His dark brown eyes gazed into my with an unusual intensity as we swayed back and forth together. I just tried to remember what Ricky had told me—to be confident and strong.

It seemed to be working, this guy was definitely interested.

I decided to try a move I've seen girls do all the time in clubs, where a girl straddles a guy's leg as they're percolating in synchronicity. It worked out pretty well, except this guy was so tall it got awkward after a while. That's when he lifted me off the ground so my legs wrapped around his waist.

"Oh my God," I cried loud enough so he could hear.

He chuckled, "Don't worry, sweetie, this is just to make things easier on you."

I allowed him to continue holding me up until I felt someone else tug on my arm. It was Alice, giving me a concerned look. The guy set me down and Alice dragged me back to our table.

She whirled around when we got back, "What the hell were you doing?"

I shrugged, "Dancing."

"You were dry-humping some random guy on a dance floor, Bells," she corrected. "I know you want to break out of your shell and everything, but you don't need to let a guy man-handle you like that."

I felt that same strong hand on my shoulder and turned to see the guy looking at me apologetically.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you two," he said. "Can I make it up to you? What are you girls drinking?"

"That's OK," Alice said. "We should go; we've had enough to drink."

He looked incredibly sad, "Oh...OK. Um, can...can I still have your number?"

Alice looked like she was about to object, but I turned my back on her briefly to give it to him. I found a napkin and wrote it down, along with my name. I handed it to him and he smiled, "I'm Jacob...it's nice to meet you," he looked down at the napkin, "...Bella."

"It's nice to meet you, too," I said.

Alice grabbed my arm then and dragged me outside before I could say another word to Jacob. I didn't really care if she was upset; I was feeling good about myself for the first time in years. First Edward, now Jacob; I was beginning to realize what it means to be confident and desired...and I liked it.

Alice dropped me off at my home and I went directly to bed with thoughts of a certain brown-eyed boy swirling in my head.

I woke up the next day with a nice headache, but, thankfully, nothing worse. I looked at my clock and it read 9:30 a.m. I remembered with a start that I was supposed to meet Edward in half an hour. I ignored my pounding head and jumped into the shower quickly.

Once I was out and dressed, I applied a little mascara and grabbed my purse and keys before heading out.

I was out of breath by the time I showed up at the coffee shop. I couldn't believe me, of all people, was late for something. Edward was sitting at a table in the corner and I rushed over and began apologizing profusely.

"I'm so sorry I'm late. I overslept, I never do that." I rambled on and on for a while until he got over his initial shock of my sudden outburst and started laughing.

"It's OK, Bella; you're like, what, a minute late? You don't need to freak out, it's not like I thought you forgot about our date!"

I sat down after a moment and he took my hand into both of his, "But, I am glad to see you care so much about our date. I don't usually get such enthusiasm from girls I meet."

"Not even from Kate?" The words had flown out of my mouth before I had time to stop them.
"Kate?" He asked. "You mean Kate whom I work with? That Kate?"

"The girl you were with the other night," I said, unable to keep the disappointment out of my voice.

"She's my friend," he replied. "She and I go out after work sometimes for drinks to wind down. Did...did you think I was on a date with another girl?"

I felt pretty stupid after listening to his explanation. I nodded sheepishly and he laughed again.

"I'm sorry," he said as he kissed my hand. "I didn't mean to make you jealous. Kate's just a friend; I don't date more than one girl at a time."

A part of me said I should have known that all along. Everything I had ever assumed about him had been wrong, so I should have figured out by now he's not a player.

"No, I'm sorry," I said. "I just keep getting you pegged wrong."

"Hey, that's part of getting to know each other," he said.

We ordered some coffees and talked for a bit longer. Apparently Kate was one of his best friends, and one of the girls he worked with who is a fan of my books. I told him about what Ricky said about me having a huge gay following and he laughed.

"That's certainly a good group of people to have on your side," he said. "My cousin Mark is gay, and he's totally adamant about anything he's passionate about. I once said I thought Madonna was overrated, and he almost took a swing at me."

I laughed, "Well, you would have deserved it."

After our coffees, we walked out to where his car was parked.

"Sorry," he said. "It's a bit messy."

"That's OK," I said as I stepped inside.

He turned on his engine and the stereo blared to life. I recognized the song immediately.

"Yo La Tengo?" I asked.

"Yeah…you like them, too?"

"They're awesome," I said.

We smiled at each other briefly before he took off and drove towards the other end of town. He drove to a parking garage where I assumed we would be leaving the car.

"So, we're hoofing it?" I asked.

"Yep," he said. "This is the only place close to where we're going that is guaranteed a place to park."

"Are you going to tell me where we're going?"

He shook his head, "It's a surprise."

"Well, I already know we're near that outdoor mall," I said, smirking at him. "So, that narrows it down quite a bit."

"Alright, you caught me…we're going shopping," he joked.

"So not funny," I replied.

"I take it you don't like shopping."

"No, it's more of a nuisance I have to endure only out of necessity," I said.

"Well, then that's another thing we have in common."

We walked down the row of shops where people bustled about with cell phones glued to their ears. Most where dressed in clothes meant to convey their hipster status – the boho chic, the retro kids and the designer label obsessed mingled here. I felt out of place immediately.

However, Edward lifted my spirits by guiding me into a specialty toy store. It was the type of place where they sold mostly old school stuff and encouraged all costumers try out the toys and have a good time. We amused ourselves for hours by testing out model building sets, puzzles and puppets. I loved that he embraced his inner child; it made me more comfortable to do the same.

After the toy store, he took me to a place where we molded and painted our own pottery. I've never been all that skilled at sculpture, but my little clay pot certainly turned out better than I ever would have expected. Edward wouldn't show me what he was working on until it was finished, which frustrated me to no end.

When we finally got our projects out of the kiln, he showed me what he had worked so hard on for the past hour – two little ceramic hearts, one with a B and one with an E in the middle. It was so cute and sweet, I almost started tearing up.

He took me to dinner at a nice little sushi place. I really didn't want the night to end. As he led me back to his car, I had a debate with myself – should I invite him over tonight? Or would that just be leading him on?

He stopped his car in front of my townhouse and we sat in silence for a moment. I still wasn't sure what I wanted to do. He began leaning towards me and I leaned in as well, until our lips touched gently. We sat there in his car for a few more minutes, just kissing; and then, his hand found its way to my knee and I pulled away. I was leading him on already.

"Um, I…I should go," I said quietly.

"You don't really want to, though, do you?" He asked, flashing me a crooked smile.

"No," I breathed, "But, I also don't want to give you the wrong impression."

"Which is?"

"I…I'm not all that experienced with this sort of thing."

"What sort of thing?" He asked.

"Dating…sex…any of it," I replied.

"Are…are you a virgin?"

I nodded as I felt my face heat up to temperatures that should have made my skin start to blister. Here it goes, I thought, here's where he tries to make his escape.

"Wow," he said with a laugh. "Well, then you're right, you should go inside."

My heart dropped, "I guess I'll see you later."

"You sound sad," he said, noticing my change in mood. "What's wrong? Was it something I said?"

"Look, I know that guys our age don't want to have to deal with some girl with no experience. So, why don't we just say goodbye now and get it over with?"

"Is that what you want?"

"No," I said, still gazing at where my hands lay in my lap.

His hand gently turned my face towards his, "I don't want to say goodbye to you, either. In fact, I want to see you again, really soon."

I smiled, "Then you will."

I gave him one last kiss on his smooth, soft lips and jumped out of the car. As I walked to the door, I felt like I was in a movie and there should have been an up-tempo, Motown song playing in the background. Imagine that – the inexperienced romance author is finally in love.

Yes, I know, I put Jacob in the story...and he will be in future chapters. Please put the torches and pitchforks down!!!!